Hello I've seen quite a few images of zebra vents. I noticed a big difference between very established and matured males and young males. There are not many images floating around as well. I'm curious what you guys think of my zebras 1,2&3.
Zeb#1:

Zeb#2:

Zeb#3:

Last edited by jyjyjyjyjy on Sat Apr 08, 2017 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

This is an image of my previous matured pair that had bred for me. I believe they were wild caught and I was not certain of their age. But they were at least 5yo.

The first image is that of the alpha male. Yes it is a small bulb frequently seen in most vent images online, but look at that surrounding anatomical structure. Its almost like a raised platform for that little bulb. I don't seem to see this type of genital shots around much.

This second image is that of the female that bred with the male. Note that it has more of a V shaped bulb compared to other images around. I can bet most people may sex her (this image) to be that of a male.

hmmmmm it has been repeatedly suggested on forums that venting is the best sexing tool. yet, there are so few photos available on google of vents of confirmed sexed zebra plecos. Considering so many have bred zebs, isn't this odd?

Is sexing via venting only as accurate as the other sexing tools such as body shapes, fin curvatures, "hairy-ness" and behaviour? (which i find to be very variable amongst the opinions of hobbyists, behaviour being the most consistent)

All factors need to be taken into account to make an "educated" guess. It seems the only sure-fire way to sex 2 zebras is when they breed. The big question mark remains, with regards to all the other subdominant zebras that are in between in the bodyshape/hairyness/behaviour spectrum.

i was hoping everyone could chip in and compare vent photos. cmon guys!